If I had to choose, I'd pick Robert Griffin III over Johnny Manziel, though both are better fitted to the CFL than the NFL.

The plan for Johnny Manziel was to use the Spring League game to show off in front of NFL scouts, proving that he is capable of playing quarterback at a high level.

There were flashes of the old Johnny Football, but the results were … mixed. He completed his first seven passes, including one for a touchdown, but was sacked three times and, at the end of the day in Austin, he had completed 9-of-15 attempts for 82 yards in about two quarters of play.

“It’s disappointing, some of the things that happened,” said Manziel, who was playing in his first game in nearly 2 1/2 years (per ESPN), “but nevertheless, it’s a huge step for me. I put pads back on. A lot of people wrote me off just to even get to this point. I’m definitely emotional about it. I’m definitely happy about it. This isn’t the end goal for me, but I’m having fun again. I have a smile on my face.”

Johnny Manziel is doing what he needs to do to play professional football again, announcing Saturday morning that he will play in the Canadian Football League.

“Made the decision today to sign my contract with the CFL and further my career after a long break,” he tweeted. “Very grateful for everyone that’s been supporting me along the way. I believe this is the best opportunity for me moving forward and I’m eager for what the future holds.”

It’s not the NFL, but it’s a start. He’ll be playing for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, who open training camp Sunday and play their first preseason game June 1. The team’s first regular season game is June 16, and Manziel has agreed to a two-year deal with them.

This should have happened about 5 years ago. But, I feel that Manziel will only get as good as he puts the effort into the CFL. He should not get a start this year. But, next year if he is still on the roster maybe. And, as far as I am concerned. The Jury is out, and will be out unless Hamilton cuts him.

I would start Manziel at Hamilton. The coach, June Jones, says that Manziel is perfect for CFL. Robert Griffin III should sign there, given that CFL players are lighter than the NFL and that Griffin is probably still fast enough to out-run defensive players. Griffin pick the wrong league. So be it. Maybe Manziel is lucky that the NFL does not want him?

It takes about 1 year for a quarterback to make the adjustment to the CFL. And, with Manziel not playing in a few years. I agree that he does have the potential. But, "Greatest CFL QB". Sorry but, Warren Moon, or Doug Flutie he's gonna need a few seasons to surpass. As far as RG3 playing up there also. Well he also will need a year to adapt to the Canadian game.

It’s tough to be nicknamed “Johnny Football” when you’re relegated to backup duties and never see the field — then again, “Johnny Bench” is pretty much already taken — so Sunday’s trade to the Montreal Alouettes could be just what the doctor ordered for Johnny Manziel. On a cellar-dwelling Canadian Football League team with an unsettled quarterback situation, Manziel is now in good position to play in a meaningful football game for the first time since December 2015.

That was with the Cleveland Browns, who drafted Manziel with a first-round pick in 2014 but who cut him in March 2016, after which the former Heisman Trophy winner drifted away from the sport while partying and making headlines for allegations of domestic abuse and property damage. Manziel eventually began training for a return to football, and after generating little interest from the NFL, he signed in May with the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats, who traded him to Montreal.

In Ontario, Manziel never saw the field in any of the team’s five regular season games, as starter Jeremiah Masoli has not only played well, he tied a CFL record earlier this year with his ninth straight 300-year passing performance. The Alouettes, meanwhile, have been giving playing time to Drew Willy, Jeff Mathews and Matt Shiltz while getting off to a 1-4 start.

It’s not like Montreal Alouettes quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. had a particularly awful game on Thursday night in a 44-23 home loss to the Edmonton Eskimos. He completed 15 of 28 passes for 217 yards and an interception, which isn’t all that great, but he also led the team with 72 rushing yards and a touchdown on eight carries as 1-5 Montreal tied its season high for points. Afterward, Coach Mike Sherman even said Adams “played well enough to win,” even if he was sacked six times behind a deficient offensive line.

Nevertheless, the crowd of 16,654 at Molson Stadium were calling for Adams’s backup as early as the second quarter, with chants of “Johnny! Johnny! Johnny!” and “We want Johnny!” filling the air.

Yeah, it’s that Johnny: Johnny Manziel, whom the Alouettes acquired in a trade from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on July 22. And Adams wasn’t particularly pleased that the fans were letting their preference be known (some of them even had purchased Manziel jerseys).

MONTREAL — Johnny Manziel ambled through the lobby of the downtown high-rise wearing shorts, a gray T-shirt and a baseball cap that hung just above his eyes. There was no bling, no Champagne bottles, no paparazzi.

In the temporary residence that Manziel currently calls home, a few people passed without even a glance at one of the most infamous and recognizable athletes in the United States. Manziel, now trying to rebuild his career in the Canadian Football League, settled comfortably into the booth of an empty restaurant, took off his Montreal Alouettes cap and let down his guard.

“I dug myself such a hole and made myself look so bad,” he said, referring to years of self-destructive and sometimes violent behavior. “How do I even get this thing back on track?”

Manziel had been given a second chance long before he got to Montreal — and a third and a fourth and probably a few more that the public does not know about. Montreal and its football team are giving him his latest, and possibly last, chance to resurrect a once-promising football life derailed by poor play, bad behavior and arrests — including one on charges that he had assaulted his girlfriend.